Machine for securing articulated fasteners to articles

ABSTRACT

This disclosure relates to a machine for securing articulated fasteners to articles, comprising a supporting frame, a container having a substantially cylindrical wall on said frame, a revolving body within said container having an axis of rotation coaxial with said cylindrical wall, a substantially cylindrical skirt member within said container spaced from said cylindrical wall thereof to define a narrow gap therebetween, said skirt member having a top edge defining a helically extending arraying guide, a setting-die, a conveying guide having one end confluently arranged with respect to an end portion of said arraying guide and another end thereof facing said setting-die, brush means secured on said revolving body to impart a random circular motion to fasteners loaded into said container and slide them along said arraying guide, motor and transmission means for imparting motion to said revolving body and said setting-die.

United States atent Original application Mar. 7, 1968, Ser. No. 71 1,253, now abandoned. Divided and this application June 2, I970. Ser. No. 54,038

MACHINE FOR SECURING ARTICULATED FASTENERS T0 ARTICLES 1 Claim, 5 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 227/149, 227/ I 8 Int. Cl B2 lj 15/34 Field oiSearch 227/15, 16, I8, I49

l References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,936,454 5/1960 Lundeberg. 227/18 3,358,895 l2/l967 Chiabrandy... 227/15 Primary Examiner-Granville Y. Custer. J r Atlorneys-Guid0 Modiano and Albert Josif ABSTRACT: This disclosure relates to a machine for securing articulated fasteners to articles. comprising a supporting frame. a container having a substantially cylindrical wall on said frame. a revolving body within said container having an axis of rotation coaxial with said cylindrical wall, a substantially cylindrical skirt member within said container spaced from said cylindrical wall thereof to define a narrow gap therebetween. said skirt member having a top edge defining a helically extending arraying guide, a setting-die. a conveying guide having one end confluently arranged with respect to an end portion of said arraying guide and another end thereof facing said setting-die. brush means secured on said revolving body to impart a random circular motion to fasteners loaded into said container and slide them along said arraying guide. motor and transmission means for imparting motion to said revolving body and said setting-die.

PATENTEDNBY 3019?! 3,623 .647

SHEET 1 OF 2 INVENTOR ADALBERTO 5UJ5MAN 5 TEIN BERG BY AM AGENT PATENTEDNH 30 IBYI 3,623,647

SHEET 2 [1F 2 INVENTOR ADALBERTO SUSSMAN 5 TEINB ERG AGE-HT MACHINE FOR SECURING ARTICULATED FASTENERS TO ARTICLES CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This is a division of application, Ser. No. 71 1,253 filed Mar. 7, 1968, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a fastener setting machine for setting fasteners such as hooks or loops to skin or leather articles and the like and, more particularly, a machine of the said type including a special punch and a device for automatically conveying said hooks to a setting-die.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the invention is to provide a setting-die for fastener setting machines, adapted to operate with fasteners of the articulated rivet type having a stern portion and an eyelet portion articulated thereon.

The setting-die according to the invention is formed of a pair of reciprocating jawlike members hinged together at an end, said pair of jaw members defining a seat arranged stably and releasably to receive one of said articulated rivets at a time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will more clearly be understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of a machine according to the invention, illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a general and diagrammatic elevational view of a machine according to the invention for riveting articulated structure hooks;

FIG. 2 shows, in an enlarged scale and in a perspective elevational view, articulated fasteners loading and conveying device employed in the machine according to the invention;

FIG. 3 shows a cross section of a detail of the same machine;

FIG. 4 particularly shows the setting-die employed in the machine according to the invention in closed position during the riveting stage of an articulated fastener;

FIG. 5 shows the same die in open position at the moment in which the riveted fastener is released.

The articulated fastener to which the motion of this invention is particularly adapted may be of any kind provided that it comprises at least two component parts hingedly linked to each other. An articulated fastener of this kind is in great demand on the world markets and to which the described embodiment of the machine according to this invention has been particularly adapted is shown in FIG. 3 positioned within the elements 20 and 21 of the conveying guide 6 and in FIG. 4 received in the seat between the jaw members 31 and 35 of the die 7. The articulated fastener as shown has a ring or eyelet member 27b which is hinged in a looped formation 27a of a plate portion 27 from which a rivet stem portion 28 projects perpendicular to the plate portion 27.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The machine 1 according to the embodiment comprises a bearing frame 2, on the upper section of which is arranged articulated fasteners loading and conveying device 3, a motor unit 4 which, with the interposition of a transmission system diagrammatically indicated at 5, provides the movement and energy for feeding fasteners to a conveying guide 6 arranged to guide the fasteners to a riveting die 7. Said punch 7 is also actuated by said motor unit 4 through a per se known transmission system (not shown). Said bearing frame 2 also defines a block member 8 to which a fixed anvil member 9 is secured. The fixed anvil member 9 cooperates with said punch 7 to rivet a fastener to a skin or hide or leather article or the like as will be explained hereinafter.

With reference to FIG. 2, the loading and conveying device 3 comprises a cylindrical container 10 which is made fast with the bearing frame 2 of the machine. Internally of said cylindrical container 10 a revolving drum 11 is coaxially arranged. The lower shaftlike end 12 of said drum 11 projects beyond said cylindrical container 10 and is transmissively connected to the transmission system 5 by means of a belt 13. Said drum 11 is provided with groups of somewhat stiff striplike members or brushes 14 arranged, for instance, at the ends of mutually perpendicular diameters of the cross section of the drum 1], at different levels and extending radially from the drum 11. Inside said cylindrical container 10 is arranged a cylindrical skirt 15 too. Between the wall of the container 10 and said skirt 15 an interspace or gap 16 of constant width is formed. The skirt 15 has an upper profile or edge 17 which will be hereinafter called arraying guide and which extends substantially helically with respect to the cylindrical container 10, and is provided in its upper section with a plurality of approximately triangular projections of teeth 18. One side 19 of said triangular projections 18 is slightly curved with externally directed convexity, whereas the other projecting side extends substantially in a vertical direction.

Between two adjacent teeth 19 there is a distance corresponding to the diameter of the hollow conical shaft 28 of the rivet portion of the articulated fastener which will be described later. The height of each tooth has a preestablished value depending on the size of the articulated ring portion of the rivet and the relation between the articulated fastener and the teeth will be described later.

The arraying guide 17, after reaching a point of maximum level, descends towards the guide 6 through which the articulated fasteners are fed to the punch 7. Advantageously said triangular projections or teeth 18 involve only a terminal section of the arraying guide or helical profile 17, even less than that shown in the drawing, while the brush members 14 have a length such as to interfere with or at least touch the lateral internal surface of said cylindrical container 10.

The conveying guide 6 for guiding articulated fasteners towards the die 7 comprises a pair of elongated plate members 20 and 21 (see FIG. 3) which are secured to one another in partially superimposed relationship by per se known means. As clearly shown in FIG. 1 the members 20 and 21 together have a substantially C-like longitudinal development. The member 20 defines, on the face facing the member 21, a steplike formation with a projecting portion 22 and an undercut portion between which a shoulder or edge 23 is provided while said member 21 likewise defines a step formation, offset with respect to the step fonnation of member 20 and having an undercut or a recess 24 with relative edge or shoulder 25. Said members 20 and 21 are spaced from each other and when in position a shaped seat 26 is defined therebetween, which is suitable to firmly receive an articulated fastener 27 when positioned as shown in FIG. 3. Such stability is ensured by the fact that the articulated eyelet part 27b and partially also the platelike part 27, of said fastener, is engaged in said seat 26 so that the hook behaves as if it were entirely rigid. More precisely, the edges or shoulders 23 and 25 firmly retain said hook, engaging with the loop bend 27a thereof, with which said eyelet is articulated, while the projection or rivet stem portion 28, designed to be riveted at the moment of the securing of the fastener, freely projects above the member 20.

Along the run of said guide 6, the machine according to the invention is provided with a device, of known type, diagrammatically indicated at 29, which permits an intermittent passage of one fastener at a time and one rodlike member 30. Said rodlike member 30 is transmissively connected by known transmission means (not shown) to said motor unit 4 and is intended to load one of said articulated fasteners at a time in the die 7. Said punch 7 (FIGS. 4 and 5) comprises a first block member 31 associated, in per se known manner, to a stem 32 which constitutes the end of a transmission unit (not shown) designed to lower the die 7 so that it approaches the counterpunch or anvil member 9 and intended to determine the riveting of the articulated fastener on a leather or hide article or the like. An arm 34 is pivoted in 33 to said block member 31. The arm 34 is further fast with a plate or jawlike member 35 which due to the pivoting in 33 is able to perform in relation to said block member 31, a substantially jawlike movement advantageously against the action of spring means 36. The spring 36 by acting on the chamfered surface of the arm 34 tends to maintain the jawlike member closed. On the face of the said block member 31, turned towards said jaw member 35, a groove 38 extending perpendicular to the drawing is provided. Said groove 38 is essentially circular in cross section and is designed to mate with the external profile of said annular hinging bend 27a defined by the platelike part of the articulated fastener 27.

The transmission means through which the drum 1] is rotated, the transmission means through which the die 7 is lowered and lifted and through which the pusher 30 is actuated, as well as the pusher 30 and the member 20 have not been described in detail since these devices are well known in the art.

The operation of the machine according to the invention is as follows: after having bulk or random loaded a plurality of articulated fasteners, inside the container 10, the drum 11 is rotated and in consequence the brushlike units 14 rotate together with the drum and entrain said fasteners into a turbulent or random circular movement. During such movement some of said fasteners become positioned with their ring portion within the interspace 16, which is advantageously of such width, as to receive only the ring portion of the fasteners when positioned in the way visible in FIG. 2.

The platelike portion is then so arranged with respect to the helical profile 17 that the projecting part or rivet stem portion 28 is radially orientated towards the axis of the drum 11. Advantageously, in order to improve the stability of the fasteners thus positioned on said skirt l and the prevent separate pieces of fasteners from falling to the bottom of said interspace 16, the skirt 15 may be provided, on its lateral external surface, with a flange or wing 39 which is also arranged to extend helically with respect to the axis of the cylindrical container i0 and which is almost or entirely in sliding peripheral contact with the lateral internal surface of the container 10. The flange 39 may also control the exact angular position of the stem of the fastener. The fasteners positioned on the helical profile or edge 17 are continually urged by the brushes 14, to slide along the profile towards the entrance to the guide 6. During such sliding the presence and arrangement of the projections or teeth 18 is such as to maintain a determined positioning of the fasteners, avoid any entanglement between the articulated fasteners and expel such fasteners as should be imperfectly positioned.

In fact, along the toothed portion of the arraying guide, the fasteners have to hop from one tooth gap to the other until they reach the guide 6. If they find the relevant tooth gap already occupied they either fall on the bottom of the container 10 or jump over the occupied gap and reach the next void tooth gap. The height of the teeth 18 is chosen slightly less than the distance between the rivet stem portion 28 of the fastener and the periphery of the ring portion 27b thereof when the relative position between the stem portion 28 and the ring portion 27b of the fastener is as shown in' FIG. 3 or 4. At the same time, the tooth height is chosen so as to be greater than the distance between the stem 28 of the fastener and the periphery of the plate portion 27 of the fastener at the opposite end to the hinge formation 27a (FIG. 3) or the distance between the stern portion 28 of the fastener and the periphery of the articulated ring portion 27b when such ring portion is turned in the opposite position with respect to that shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, Le. when this articulated ring portion 27b is rotated by 180 with respect to the position of FIGS. 3 and 4.

In fact, in the known machines of this kind wherein the toothed portion is not provided, the articulated fasteners were slid along the smooth guide in incorrect position and this is one of the reasons why the articulated fasteners could not be used in such known machines. In addition, the spaced tooth gaps distribute the fasteners in a regular order near the conveying guide 6.

Thus a regular feeding of fasteners to said guide 6 is maintained. Once they are inserted in the conveying guide 6, the fasteners, which are firmly positioned with respect to the guide and, that is to say, free from danger of any lateral escape from the guide, run under gravity action until they reach the device 29. From said device 29, one fastener at a time is carried to the die 7 in which they are loaded by the rodlike pusher member 30, the operation of which is known.

Said die 7 firmly receives the articulated fastener (FIG. 4) and does not allow the latter any oscillation. In fact, the guiding gap 26 of the guide 6 confluently ends into the corresponding gap of the punch 7 and reaches the punch laterally, i.e., in a direction perpendicular to the drawing plate of FIG. 4. That is, the gap of the punch is aligned or in register with the gap of the guide 6. The hook enters, the gap of the die 7 either by impact energy or by the pushing force provided by the swinging pusher 30. Through this impact the elastical jaw 35 of the punch is slightly opened against the action of spring 36 and the hook is firmly held within the die in the position shown.

The die 7 is then brought adjacent the counter die or anvil 9 by known transmission means. Subsequently the securing and simultaneous fitting of the platelike of said articulated fastener onto a hide or leather article, or the like, is effected with riveting of the part 28.

The die subsequently returns to its initial position and there is determined, at the moment of disengagement of the already fitted fastener, opening of the jaw members against the action of the spring 36. Thus no sudden stresses are exerted on the fixed fastener which might otherwise cause tearing of the hide or leather to which the fastener is fitted. Once the fitted fastener has been released, the spring 36 causes the member 35 to return into contact with the member 31, thus reestablishing the initial conditions.

From what has been described and illustrated, it will be evident that the machine according to the invention completely achieves the predetermined objects, with especial regard to the automatic working achieved in the fitting of articulated fasteners and the consequent high daily production.

The invention as thus conceived may be subject to various modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

I. A reciprocating setting-die for fastener setting machines, the fasteners being an articulated rivet fastener having a stem portion and an eyelet portion said stem portion having a loop bend on one end thereof, said eyelet portion being articulated on said loop bend, said loop bend extending transverse to the extension of said eyelet portion, thereby to form transverse protuberances with respect to said eyelet portion, the setting machine being of the type having a feed channel for the fasteners and a pusher member pushing the fasteners towards the setting-die and a fixed anvil member arranged in the reach of the setting-die lower end of stroke position and comprising a reciprocating block member and a movable jaw member hinged on said block member near a side thereof opposite the side facing said pusher member, said block member having a first clamping surface for the fasteners extending transverse to the direction of reciprocating motion stroke of said setting-die and said jaw member having another clamping surface cooperating with said first clamping surface in the clamping of fasteners, said clamping surfaces defining jaws opening towards said pusher member, spring means urging said movable jaw member in a closed position thereof, said movable jaw member having a hinge axis perpendicular to said direction of reciprocating motion, said movable jaw member having an arm extending perpendicular to said other clamping surface, said arm having a free end thereof hinged on said block member about a hinge axis perpendicular to said direction of reciprocating motion, wherein said free end has an abutment surface positioned beyond said hinge axis with respect to said other clamping surface, said spring means having one end thereof engaging said block member and having another end thereof pressing against said abutment surface, and wherein said first and said other surface have seat portions adapted to the shape of said fasteners, said shape including at least one groove adapted to receive said transverse protuberances of said loop bend. 5 

1. A reciprocating setting-die for fastener setting machines, the fasteners being an articulated rivet fastener having a stem portion and an eyelet portion said stem portion having a loop bend on one end thereof, said eyelet portion being articulated on said loop bend, said loop bend extending transverse to the extension of said eyelet portion, thereby to form transverse protuberances with respect to said eyelet portion, the setting machine being of the type having a feed channel for the fasteners and a pusher member pushing the fasteners towards the setting-die and a fixed anvil member arranged in the reach of the setting-die lower end of stroke position and comprising a reciprocating block member and a movable jaw member hinged on said block member near a side thereof opposite the side facing said pusher member, said block member having a first clamping surface for the fasteners extending transverse to the direction of reciprocating motion stroke of said setting-die and said jaw member having another clamping surface cooperating with said first clamping surface in the clamping of fasteners, said clamping surfaces defining jaws opening towards said pusher member, spring means urging said movable jaw member in a closed position thereof, said movable jaw member having a hinge axis perpendicular to said direction of reciprocating motion, said movable jaw member having an arm extending perpendicular to said other clamping surface, said arm having a free end thereof hinged on said block member about a hinge axis perpendicular to said direction of reciprocating motion, and wherein said free end has an abutment surface positioned beyond said hinge axis with respect to said other clamping surface, said spring means having one end thereof engaging said block member and having another end thereof pressing against said abutment surface, and wherein said first and said other surface have seat portions adapted to the shape of said fasteners, said shape including at least one groove adapted to receive said transverse protuberances of said loop bend. 